UNC head basketball coach Roy Williams says he well remembers the plane ride home from Los Angeles in December of 2005 after Carolina was blitzed 74-59 by USC.

Williams said he couldn’t recall a more dismal flight.

“I remember getting on the dadgum plane and people wanting me to smile and talk,” recalled Williams. “And I didn’t want to smile at anybody. lt was, ‘Leave me alone and let me study my stat sheet, cry in my Coke and get the heck home.’”

What put ol’ Roy in a less-than-Christmas spirit four days before the big holiday was a dominating Trojan performance over his young and immature basketball team.

“The last year when we played them out there, the second half they kicked our tails worse than anybody kicked us all year long. It was a nightmare.”

So they meet again on Friday. Both teams are better now, and that 2005 game really means nothing. It was long ago. It just gives the coach something to get on his team about. You know, anything for an edge.

This time much more is at stake. Carolina, the top seed in the East, is supposed to be in East Rutherford. Nobody would have given Southern Cal a shot before the season.

But the Trojans, 25-11 on the season and 11-7 in the PAC 10, have come on under veteran coach Tim Floyd. If you saw how they ran up and down the court against Texas, you saw just how athletic they are.

Like Carolina, they play a lot of people—nine of them average double figures in minutes played—and they have balanced scoring, with four in double figures. Defensively, USC will get after its opponents. That’s what Tim Floyd likes. That’s what he preaches.

Williams knows Floyd, a former Iowa State coach, well from their days in the Big 12.

“He has two things he does really well,” Williams says. “He can coach and he has players that listen to what he says and follow what he says, and he’s a phenomenal coach.”

Carolina will be facing a team that appears loose and confident and ready to play and likes the underdog role.

“We’re this year’s George Mason,” says leading scorer Nick Young, who’s averaging 17.6 points per game. ”We want to be the underdog. We’re not trying to get bigheaded and have a letdown.”

I was watching the Texas-USC game Sunday, expecting that Texas and Kevin Durant would win. That’s what the hype said, but what I saw was a Southern Cal team that was better—a lot better. They completely outclassed the Longhorns. They played quicker and harder. Many times, their breaks were three-on-none.

Carolina enters Friday’s Sweet 16 game an 8.5-point favorite and coming off the impressive second-round game against Michigan State. It was a tough test, and the Tar Heels passed it like a genius acing an exam.

Tyler Hansbrough with 33 points in that game was at will. Brandan Wright had one of his rare off games, but Williams is not worried about the ACC rookie of the year.

“I told him in the locker room, ‘You’ll be fine,’ and I really believe that. It is human nature that you’re not always as good as you would like to be. I hope he’s the biggest worry we have.”

If Wright gets back to being Wright,  the Trojans will have a hard time handling him and Hansbrough, especially  Hansbrough’s intensity. As all of us who see him a lot know, he’s a handful.

And Carolina has Ty Lawson to get them the ball and also do a little scoring on his own. His play of late has been about as good as it gets—lots of points and assists with very few mistakes.

“I’ve been extremely happy with Ty the last six or seven games. He’s played great basketball,” praises Williams. ”He’s defended well. He’s concentrated well.”

And Lawson says a big reason he’s playing well is that with Williams’ growing confidence in him, he’s learning to relax.

“I’m just going with the flow. If I make a mistake, coach knows I’ll pick it up the next few plays.”

Carolina left early Wednesday for East Rutherford and had senior Reyshawn Terry with them. Terry, who was sick but played against Michigan State, has been diagnosed with strep throat and hasn’t practiced all week. But he had no fever Wednesday and is expected to play Friday. They do need him because he’s had the knack lately of hitting clutch shots.

One thing that Roy Williams is not happy about is the start time. The 9:57 Friday night tip-off has him irked.

“It’s just absolutely silly to me why in the dickens we’re starting a game at 9:57. It is beyond comprehension to me.”

I feel you coach, and really, not many like those late starts. But you know and I know and the American people know it’s that thing called television, which of course helps schools pay some of those big coaching salaries.

But late start or not, Williams will have his team ready, and I expect Southern Cal— despite the long trip cross-country—will be ready as well. If they play like they did against Texas, the Heels will have a fight.

That’s the way it ought to be in the Sweet 16. Great games make for great tournaments, and only a few teams are left.

“I love playing in the NCAA tournament,” Williams says. “I love playing when a lot of guys aren’t (playing) and the focus is on your club.”

And there’s a lot of focus on Carolina, which is as talented as any team still left in the field.

Williams says he truly believes his team will play well. I’m sure Tim Floyd expects the same from his team.

Just the way it should be when only 16 teams are left.